A stunned and barely conscious David lies at the entryway to Ishtar"s cave. Carefully, Ishtar moves the boy closer to the light of the campfire. He checks David"s eyes, his respiration, and his wrist pulse for signs of life. Satisfied that he is alive, his attention shifts to the silk pouch David carries tied to his belt.
“Well, well. What have we here?” Ishtar removes the pouch from David"s belt and pours the contents into his hand. Surprise and pleasure register as one emotion on Ishtar"s face as the colored crystals fill his palm. His reaction then evolves to ecstasy at the sight of the Singer crystal, and then to bewilderment.
David stirs, moans in pain, then falls unconscious again. Ishtar selects a few of the colored crystals and, with his cutter"s tools, skillfully chips a few pie
